Hall of Fame
Position: Halfback
Years: 1940-1942
Place of Birth: McKees Rocks, PA
Date of Birth: Oct 10, 1920
Place of Death: Athens, GA
Date of Death: Oct 22, 1990
Jersey Number: 21
Height: 5-10
Weight: 183
High School: Youngstown, OH (Chaney HS)
He didn't want to be a halfback because, in those days, halfbacks had to throw the football. "Make me a fullback," Frank Sinkwich begged Georgia coach Wally Butts. But Butts wouldn't budge, insisting the Youngstown, Ohio, native had a good arm and needed nothing more than confidence. So it was that "Fireball Frankie" ended up as one of the nation's great passers. "Good passers are both born and made," Butts said of him. "He acquired, through hard work and endless practice, the ability to pick the open receiver better than anybody I ever saw." Flat-footed and broad-bottomed, Sinkwich posed an unlikely football candidate. But his achievements in 1942 proved his awkward appearance only camouflaged an incredible talent. He established a national total-offense record of 2187 yards, 1392 of those coming through the air. In Georgia's 40-26 victory over Texas Christian in the 1942 Orange Bowl, he completed 9 of 13 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown - a total of 382 all-purpose yards. Sinkwich was the Heisman Trophy winner as a result of his amazing play as a senior in 1942. Following his collegiate playing days, Sinkwich broke into the NFL with the Detroit Lions and, in 1944, was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.
